Revive
by Aozora12
Summary: Naraku is dead and her friends escaped the battle without a scratch. But what of Kagome? Too stubborn to reveal her injuries, what happens to her? Who does she meet in an unexpected place? How are their destinies entwined? What role do the kami play in all this?
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Inuyasha. All rights go where due.

Chapter One

"He's... dead. He's gone. He's really, really gone! Kagome, you did it!" an ecstatic voice cried out over the battered and bloody battlefield. Kagome looked up from where she kneeled on the ground, holding a completed Shikon no Tama in her hand, glowing with a soft pink light. She saw her friends hurrying over to her, all smiling and cheering happily. Not a single one had been severely injured, and for that she was relieved.

The battle against Naraku had been long and hard, testing everyone to their limits. It was surprising that her friends only escaped with scratches and minor injuries. The only death had been Kikyo, and she had been long since dead when she entered the battle. She had been prepared to die, and Inuyasha had also been prepared for his former love's departure from the world. He no longer loved her, so the pain was minimized. While Naraku had been gloating to Inuyasha, who was faking shock and grief to distract the evil hanyou, about Kikyo's death, Kagome had sneaked up behind him and shot the most powerful purifying arrow she could create, draining her of most of her powers as it hit the mark and purified Naraku to dust... but not before he noticed her and did his damage.

Kagome looked around at her friends with a weak smile, trying to be strong and not let them know of the extent of her injuries. What looked like mere bruising to her ribs was actually a fatal blow. She could feel it. Several ribs had punctured both of her lungs. It was already hard to breathe as blood flowed into her lungs, but he managed to persuade her friends that she was fine. They tried to get her to walk to the village with them, but she decline, saying that she needed to wish on the jewel and get rid of it forever. She told them she needed to concentrate, so they left her alone to head to the village. Kagome held up her strong outer appearance until her friends were well out of sight and, for Inuyasha, out of sensing range. Then she struggled to asses the damage to her body, grimly noting that there was nothing anyone in this era could do to help her. Even in her era, the chance of her surviving this was small... and she couldn't get to her era anyways. The battle had taken place in the field where the well was, ultimately destroying the sacred well and her way home. The well could be rebuilt... but by the time it was fixed she would be gone. In fact, she had very little time left as it was.

The young miko took a small shaky breath; it was all she could manage to do that much. She knew she was going to die, and very soon. She could see the pallbearers to the afterlife gathering around her already. She knew she had to hurry and make her wish, however, so that the cursed jewel would disappear forever and no longer ruin the lives of everyone it came into contact with. So Kagome held the jewel up in front of her face and made the only wish that would permanently rid the world of the jewel. She wished for the four souls trapped within the jewel and giving it power would be able to rest in peace, for Midoriko's fight to be over at long last and for her spirit to be at ease.

With her wish made, the jewel disappeared from the world forever, never to be seen again. Kagome sighed softly, wincing in pain as she did so. The thought of using the jewel on herself never once crossed her mind, for she knew the jewel would only continue to reappear in the world should she make such a selfish wish. No, is she could die to save the fate of the world, she would do so gladly. It was with that thought that she took a slow shallow breath, closed her eyes, exhaled... and then breathed no more.

**-BREAK-**

Hello to all my beloved readers! This is my return to fanfic, and I decided to give you a glimpse at the newest story I have been working on! Actually, I wanted to put up a Sesshy/Kag story but I'm still trying to sort that one out in my mind, and this one has conveniently been floating around in my head, almost fully developed, the last several days.

Anyways, all my stories will be updated sometime very soon, but you must understand that I am now in college and have several papers to write so it may be a while before the next updates after this.

I'm making this clear now, this is NOT a oneshot, even though it could very well be one. This story WILL have several chapters by the time it is complete. Also, please do not harp on me about how short it is! I know it is short, okay?! But I wanted to leave you with a cliffie ;D

Also, many of you know that I just recently had a revival and am trying to make a change. I will allow myself to write a lemon for this story. However, it will only have ONE lemon and only implications afterwards. You are warned so do NOT yell at me for not having smut in this story. This story is only rated M because of this one lemon, which I am sure will be mild.

Thank you for your support. I must say I truly love my fans but, after my last update, I got about seventy million email alerts on my phone within a 24 hour period about people following and favorite my work. While I am truly flattered about that, I must say I am slightly disturbed at how many I got at midnight. Is this all you do at night? Read fanfic? No sleep? I like sleep, don't you? And my phone, it makes this high-pitched chirping sound when I get an email...

Really, I do love all my readers. Thank you so much for liking my work :) You make it worthwhile. I appreciate the constructive criticism, too. And to all the NEW readers, please TAKE NOTE ON THIS. I do not appreciate foul language, hateful comments, or disrespect against my religion, as well as any other religion. IF you have a serious issue with anything I write, please, be polite and courteous with your reviews, or just PM me. I won't mind if you PM me with your hateful comments, so long as it is not in the reviews for everyone to see. Thank you.

I am so glad to be back. Sorry for the long author's note. I will likely update this story sometime very soon, so fear not! ;D

-Aozora12


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Inuyasha

Chapter Two

Inuyasha paced in Kaede's hut, an unpleasant feeling settling in his gut. Something was wrong, very wrong. He just knew it. But he didn't know what it could be! Naraku was dead and all his friends were safe and accounted for. He looked over them now. Sango only had some scratches and a bump on her head, Miroku's arm was broken and he had some bruising but that was it, Kouga had broken his leg but he was a yokai so it would heal quickly, Shippou had a bump on the head but was otherwise fine, Kaede had been in her hut the entire time, and Kagome... wait, where was Kagome? Shouldn't she be back by now?

The bad feeling only grew worse as he realized that Kagome had not been seen since the battle, several hours ago. His friends were all resting so they hadn't noticed it, either, but their beloved miko was missing. The hanyou curse loudly, waking the occupants of the hut as he burst out the door and ran to the battlefield at top speed, leaving his friends to follow him slowly. He arrived at the battlefield within moments and his heart sank instantly as he spotted her.

She was at the exact same place they had left her, only now she was lying on the ground on her back. She appeared to be unharmed, but the putrid scent of her blood and death filled his nose. The hanyou was by her side in an instant, praying to every kami out there that she was still alive, but he knew it was too late. Her body was cold and lifeless, her skin pale. A small trail of blood flowed out her mouth and down her cheek to the ground. She was dead. Her heart no longer beat in her chest, and her lungs were far too full of blood for her to breathe. The hanyou lifted her shirt a bit and saw the dark bruising on her ribs, and he knew what had happened. Naraku had made one final attack as the arrow hit him. He had broken several of Kagome's ribs and forced them to pierce her lungs. Blood had filled her lungs quickly... and she had suffocated to death on her own blood... all while hiding her pain and injuries from everyone, even getting them to leave so she could die in peace without them watching.

A loud sorrowful howl filled the air of the valley. An inu mourned the death of his best friend and sister, for that was what she was like to him. They had both, at one point, been in love... and then fallen out of love. They had agreed that it would never work, and they were better off as friends. But they were too close to be friends, so they had decided to be siblings. He was her adopted brother... she was his adopted sister. And now she was gone, and he mourned aloud for the entire valley to hear.

At the sound of the howl, the gang had quickened their pace, all of them feeling pits in their stomachs as they, too, realized that only one person was missing from their group aside from the mourning hanyou. If his howl was what they thought it was, then it could only mean one thing... their beloved little miko was gone. Kagome was dead.

-break-

Kagome did not arrive where she expected to arrive upon her death. She had expected to be in some sort of afterlife, or be reincarnated into someone else far into the future. But this was not the case. No, Kagome opened her eyes only to find that she was slowly floating down to a very familiar place. She'd only been here once, when her's and Inuyasha's journey had first begun, and where he'd received his father's fang... She was at Inutaisho's grave.

The young miko landed softly in front of the giant dog's bones and armor. She stared up at the enormous skeleton in awe at his sheer size for a moment. Not even Sesshoumaru's true form had been so large. In fact, Sesshoumaru's true form was like a small pup to the size of his father's form... but that could just be due to their differences in ages. Or power. She wasn't sure how it worked.

Then her curiosity came over her. Why was she here and not in the afterlife? What purpose did she have here? This was, indeed, the realm of the dead, and she was certainly dead, but this realm was reserved for yokai... and she was human. So why was she here?

"You are here for many reasons." a charming baritone voice reached her ears suddenly. Kagome gasped in surprise and looked around for the voice, but found no source for it until the voice came again, directly behind her. "My, you are more beautiful than I remember. I suppose three years can do that to a young woman." the baritone voice chuckled with mirth. Kagome blushed at the compliment as she turned around to look at the speaker.

She found a man standing there. He appeared to be in his late twenties, and he was certainly very attractive. Standing at nearly six feet, the man was much taller than her five foot frame, too. His body rippled with muscles, hidden under his plain white kimono, and it was obvious that he was a yokai. He had jagged purple markings across his cheekbones, deadly looking fangs and claws, and a long white tail that was currently flowing behind him. His long silver hair, which she could tell was normally pulled up somehow, was flowing freely around him, reaching down to the backs of his knees, and his thick bangs covered up a large portion of his forehead. His golden eyes stared down at her with amusement and joy as he smiled a dangerously attractive smile at her.

As she stared at the strange man he was looking her over as well. What a treat he had just received. This woman was gorgeous. She was slender but no longer was it unhealthily so, like it had been three years ago when he saw her for the first time. She was a woman now, with luscious curves throughout her body. First he adored her long wavy raven tresses that reached the middle of her back and looked as soft as silk. Then he looked down her body to her her round full breasts that were hidden from his view by her plain white kimono that was identical to his, small waist, wide hips, and then her long, long legs... and then he looked back at her face. Her heart-shaped face with high cheekbones and cute dimples when she smiled with those red full lips that begged to be kissed... and then her dazzling blue eyes stood out as something no true Japanese woman would have, and he knew she was truly Japanese, as her scent had no foreign smell to it at all. The only answer was that she was a yokai... but she clearly didn't know it. Now it made sense as to why she was in this portion of the realm of the dead, instead of the human portion.

"Who... who are you?" the young miko asked, her voice sounding to him like beautiful music. He flashed an attractive grin at her, watching as a pretty blush came to her cheeks.

"Come now, little one, I know you are smarter than that. You should have gathered who I am just by looking at whose grave you are standing before." he chuckled lightly, watching as her blush deepened. She then looked around her and then looked back at him. She was standing in front of Inutaisho's grave, and this man did indeed look very similar to both Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. Could this possibly be...

"I-Inutaisho-sama?" she asked quietly. The man smiled and gave a small bow.

"Correct. I am the great Inutaisho, former Lord of the West, and sire to Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha. My name is Touga." he smiled charmingly at her. "And you, my dear, are my way out of here."

"W-what do you mean?" Kagome asked curiously. "W-we are dead. There is no way out of here."

"Ah, but that is where you are wrong." the dog general smiled. "I was told upon my death by the kami that I would not remain dead forever. It was not my destiny to die so soon, nor was it your destiny, either. We will both soon leave this place and return to life, but I require your assistance in doing so."

"But what can I do?" the young miko questioned.

"You, little one, can give me a ride to the realm of the living. You see, my own body is now residing in this realm. While I can technically generate a new one for me, it will require a great deal of time and a lot of energy, and I will have to be in the realm of the living. But it is impossible for me to return to life like this, with no form to hold onto until my body is revived." the inuyokai explained. "You, however, still have a body in the land of the living, and your soul will soon return to it."

"S-so you mean to posses me?" Kagome asked, taken aback by this.

"Yes and no, little one." the dog general chuckled. "I will not take over your body and use it as my own. I will merely hitch a ride with you. I will have something to hold onto so I do not drift away from the living realm and, once my body has been generated, I will leave your body and reward you for your help."

"I-I don't understand... how would that work?" Kagome questioned the inu.

"Simply put, I would technically posses you, but I would not take over. I will most likely stay in your mind for a while as I gather enough strength to simply hold onto you. As I grown in strength I will be able to let go of you, only returning to you to rest. After a while my body will slowly begin to form." he explained. Kagome was still confused, but decided not to question it further. From what she knew of this strange yokai, he was honorable and would not try to hurt her. He was wise and probably knew that this would work, so she would trust him.

"O-okay. I will help you return to live, Inutaisho-sama. B-but you must respect my privacy and not dig into my thoughts or anything like that." she warned him. Inutaisho merely smiled and nodded.

"I give you my gratitude, little one. And please, call me Touga."

-BREAK-

Well, it started off sad but hopefully it finished with a ray of hope. Now, how to get Kagome to return... :)

Thank you for reading, everyone! I will probably update this one again soon because I don't want to forget everything floating around in my head right now. I will update my other stories, too!

Please be polite with the reviews. Criticize me all you like, but be courteous about it please.

Sincerely, Aozora12


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Inuyasha

Chapter Three

Kagome stared up at Touga in awe as she listened to him tell her about his life. He told her of his many battles and of his sons and former lovers with a happy smile on his face throughout it all. He had been very happy with his life, he told her but then frowned and admitted that there was always a piece of him that felt empty despite his overall happiness. He had loved Mayumi and Izayoi, but he knew they were not his soul mates.

Kagome smiled sweetly at him when he changed the topic and asked about her life. There was nothing else to do, after all, until she was somehow revived. So she told him about the future and the well and the journey to collect the Shikon no Tama shards. She told him of her love for Inuyasha and how it turned into sibling love and nothing more. She then told him of the final battle with Naraku, and the inuyokai was impressed with her strength and strong will as she told him how she sent her friends away without them ever knowing she was fatally injured, and then turned around and made a very selfless wish upon the jewel instead of saving herself. Touga watched as Kagome's face lit up when she spoke of her friends and family. It was a beautiful sight to him, her smile, and it was contagious, putting a smile on his own face. This woman was very interesting, indeed, for he had not felt so calm and content even around Mayumi or Izayoi. He felt at peace around Kagome.

They talked throughout the day and until evening, and then Kagome began to worry. If she was truly supposed to be revived, it could only happen today. If she stayed in the afterlife until nightfall she would remain there permanently. Not even the Tenseiga... just as she thought that she felt her body pulse and she gasped. Touga merely smiled and walked over to her, placing one large hand on each side of her head.

"It is time to go, little one. Are you still willing to help me?" the dog general asked as Kagome pulsed again and began to feel weak. She slowly nodded as her body continued to pulse. Touga smiled reassuringly at her as she began to fear what was going on. "Do not fear, little one. It is only the Tenseiga. It seems Sesshoumaru is going to revive you as thanks for defeating Naraku."

"W-what's going to happen?" Kagome whimpered as her body weakened with each pulse.

"In a few moments you will no longer be in this realm. You will pass out and, when you wake, you will see your friends around you." he smiled lightly.

"A-and what about you?"

"I will attach myself to you before you leave, so I may return with you." Touga told her. Then he gave her a stern look. "Kagome, you must not tell anyone about us meeting. If they should ask, tell them you were floating in a black void. That is where souls rest until the pallbearers take them to the afterlife. You skipped that to be able to come here, and that is why it is taking so long for you to return. When you wake, you must not let them know anything about me or your experience here, understand?" he asked with authority in his voice that made Kagome shiver. She knew he was not a triffle to be reckoned with, especially when he was serious like this. So she nodded in agreement.

"H-hai, Touga-sama." she said quietly as her body pulsed one last time and then she passed out.

-break-

Sesshoumaru stared down at the dead miko in confusion. Reviving someone never took this long before. He could tell that it was working, but why was it taking so long?

He had heard his brother's mournful howl and merely come to investigate. What he found disturbed him. The miko, the only human aside from Rin that he'd actually approved of, was dead. She had killed Naraku, hid her injuries, and then died alone. The taiyokai was, for the first time, confused on what he should do. The miko was a human and he hated humans... but did he really hate humans or just some humans? This miko had always been kind and respectful to him, and she thought of Rin as a cute little sister. She had died honorably, taking down an enemy and never showing her pain in front of others. It was eventually this fact that led him to draw out the Tenseiga.

Inuyasha had forgotten about his brother's sword until he drew it. The mourning hanyou sat in the battlefield with his friends, all of them surrounding their beloved little miko. It was when they heard the drawing of a blade that they finally realized the taiyokai was there. Inuyasha recognized the Tenseiga and his eyes filled with hope.

"Sesshoumaru... please... save her. I'll do anything. Just please bring her back." the hanyou had said with a desperation the taiyokai had never seen in him before.

"Tell me this first, brother. What is she to you?" Sesshoumaru had asked, genuinely curious about their relationship. He knew the miko had, at one point, been in love with his brother. But lately it seemed like they were content with being friends.

"She is like a sister to me. A little sister that I want to protect... and I failed this time. I failed to protect her..." Inuyasha had sounded broken as he said that and, for the first time, Sesshoumaru had felt... pity... and compassion. So he swung his blade down and destroyed the pallbearers to the afterlife. And then they had waited... and waited.

Finally, after waiting in suspense for nearly twenty minutes, much too long for a normal revival, the group watched with baited breath as the young woman's body was healed and she slowly, slowly, took a deep breath. And then she opened her ocean blue eyes. Sango and Shippou both burst into happy tears and clung to Miroku as he, too, allowed a few tears to escape his eyes. Kaede was crying silently in joy as her adopted granddaughter was brought back to life. Even Sesshoumaru seemed relieved as Inuyasha reached out and pulled Kagome to him with a loose but meaningful hug.

Kagome had opened her eyes slowly and, true to his word, Touga had been correct. The faces of her friends had been hovering over her, and she even saw Sesshoumaru watching her with anticipation. Then she blinked and suddenly found everyone in tears, save Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. Still in a weak and sleepy haze, Kagome was pulled up off the ground and into her adopted brother's arms as he hugged her and apologized over and over for allowing her to get so hurt that she would die. He promised to never let it happen again, but Kagome wasn't listening. She was focusing on the smooth baritone voice that filled her mind.

"Your friends all clearly love you, Kagome." Inutaisho spoke to her softly, and she could almost see his charming smile. "I can see why. You are easy to love. Even I feel drawn to you." At that Kagome had to hide a blush, and she heard Inutaisho's amused laughter filling her head. It sounded almost as if he were the one hugging her instead. His laugh was pleasant to listen to, and very relaxing. Kagome found herself falling asleep in Inuyasha's arms within moments as she listened to the great dog general's laugh turn into soft, comforting growls that soothed her further. It was almost as if he wanted her to sleep... so she allowed herself to fall into the land of dreams without resistance as her friends surrounded her once more, all of them overjoyed that she was alive.

-break-

Sesshoumaru smirked as he walked alone through the forest. He was no fool. He realized the moment Kagome opened her eyes that another soul was also brought back with her, a very familiar soul. It was in that moment that he also understood why it had taken so long to bring her back. She had skipped the void and went straight to the afterlife, and right into his father's arms. That very fact only assured him that he did the right thing in reviving her... because only a soul mate could bring their mate back to the realm of the living in that way. The taiyokai knew Kagome knew nothing about it... but he also knew that his father was quite aware of that fact. Yes, bringing her back had been the right thing to do. Not only would his father return to live, but the dog general would finally be happy, truly truly happy, for the first time in his long life.

**-BREAK-**

Okay, I think I'm going to stop consecutively updating now. I've got too much homework to do. I will update two more of my stories and then take a tiny break to do homework and whatnot. And here they say college is full of parties, yeah right...

Anyways, please review and let me know how my newest story is going. If you have any suggestions I will gladly hear you out. :)

Until next time,

Aozora12


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Inuyasha or any characters in it.

For the purpose of clarification:

"Speaking normally"

"_Speaking through mind_"

_Thoughts_

It will be this way for the remainder of the story.

**Chapter Four**

Kagome slept for three days straight after her revival, slowly regaining her energy and returning to prime health. Her friends kept a diligent eye over her the entire time, taking turns to sit in the hut where she slept and watch her. Should something unusual happen they would alert the others, but so far she merely slept. When Kaede managed to get her into a half-awake state she would drink some soup and some water, and then she would return to sleep under the watchful eye of her concerned friends. They had lost her once, after all. They would not lose her again.

On the third day, towards evening, the group had gathered in the hut to eat dinner, talking quietly so as not to disturb the slumbering miko that had escaped death's cold grip. It was then that Kagome fully awoke, with the mental coaxing of Touga who was enticing her awake with the thought of a belly full of food. Not soup, but real food. That's all she wanted as she slowly opened her eyes and sat up. Her movement, however, was instantly detected by the hut's occupants, and soon enough she was swarmed with her friends giving her hugs and telling her how relieved they were that she was alive and well.

Kagome merely allowed them to hug her as she set her eyes on a bowl of rice and a fried fish. The scent of the cooked meat made her mouth water and her stomach growl. It was that sound that made her friends back off as they realized just how hungry their little miko was. Instantly a bowl of soup was brought to her, but Kagome merely stared at it for a moment before looking up at Kaede with pleading eyes. She wanted food, not soup. The elder merely smiled and nodded at the silent request from the unusually quite young woman. Soon enough Kagome was digging into a large fish, a bowl of pickled vegetables, and a bowl of rice with an extra helping of rice on top.

Kagome didn't notice her friends staring at her in shock as she devoured the food hungrily. They had never seen Kagome eat so much before, and certainly not with such desperation. It was like she was starving for over a month, but she'd only been asleep for three days, and she'd even been fed soup during that time to give her strength. Only Inuyasha seemed to notice the two barely noticeable fangs in her mouth as she ate.

-break-

"_Kagome._" Touga's voice got her attention. Kagome waited for him to speak, knowing that he had something important to tell her. "_We need to leave, Kagome. I need to gain power in order to be revived, and that can only happen in a certain place I know of, where my inner yokai is stronger._"

"_Must we leave now?_" Kagome asked in her mind. "_May I tell my friends?_"

"_No, little one. Should they know you are leaving they will try and stop you. And yes, we must leave as soon as possible. Leave a note behind, if you wish._" Inutaisho said. Kagome nodded and looked around the hut. Everyone was asleep, even Inuyasha, from what she could tell. So she gathered her things quietly, then wrote a quick note telling them that she would return. Then she stood and walked to the door of the hut, taking one last glance at her friends before walking out the door, unaware of the golden eyes that watched her silently, knowing that she needed to leave... and knowing she would return.

"_Where to?_" Kagome asked Touga in her mind.

"_If you will release your will to me I will get us there much faster._" the dog general told her. When she hesitated her frowned, and Kagome could almost see it in her mind. "_Do you not trust me, little one?_" he asked. Kagome immediately felt guilty. She hadn't known Touga for more than a week, but she already knew he was honorable and never betrayed a person's trust. She knew he would do nothing to ruin her trust towards him.

"_Of course I trust you._" she told him quietly as she surrendered her will and her body to him. Blue eyes closed only to open as golden eyes as Kagome retreated into her own mind and Touga essentially stepped into her body. From within her mind, Kagome could see everything Touga could see, and she could feel everything he felt. "_Is this what it's like for you, Touga-sama?_" she asked the inu as he started walking toward the west.

"_Yes, little one. I can see, hear, smell, feel, and taste everything you do. It is what happens when two beings share a body like this. Even though I am only in your body temporarily, we are still sharing it. I must thank you for allowing me to do so, little one. Without you I would have no chance to return to life._" he told her with a gentle smile that Kagome could practically see again.

"_Y-you're welcome_." Kagome said quietly. If she were in her body she would have blushed, and this knowledge made the inuyokai laugh. Kagome felt a small smile form on her lips as she heard his laugh. It was a very pleasant sound. She wished he would laugh more often.

-break-

Kagome looked around in awe. Touga had taken her to a large clearing with a lake and a waterfall. One side of the clearing was cut off by the cliffs where the waterfall started. The other three sides were surrounded by dense woods that were full of wild game and wild berries and herbs. The lake took up almost half of the large clearing, a field of tall grass taking up the other half. Near the lake, away from the waterfall, was a cave opening in the cliff. That is where Kagome now stood as she looked out over the area.

"_What is this place?_" she asked Touga in awe.

"_This is the place where the first inuyokai was born._" Touga told her. "_This place gives all inuyokai strength. If we stay here I should be able to return to my body in only a few months._"

"_How long would it take without this place?_" Kagome asked curiously.

"_Over a year, I believe. It takes a while for an inu to regain power after being dead for over two centuries. Staying here will be much faster. There is plenty of game in the area, and this cave makes a perfect shelter. The lake is very clean and has plenty of fish, and there are many berry bushes in the area._" he explained. "_You should be able to stay here until I am strong enough to form my body, right?_"

"_Yes._" Kagome agreed. "_There shouldn't be a problem with this place. And it's only until you're strong enough to return to your body, right?_" He response was what she thought was a smile from him. She could, once again, almost see his charming smile, and she had to fight off a blush as she got settled into her temporary new home.

-BREAK-

Good day, lovely readers! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I have the feeling this story will be popular. There aren't many good Inutaisho/Kagome fics out there, after all.

I apologize for the shortness of this chapter but this chapter is just meant to bridge a gap between the last chapter and the next chapter.

Please review, but be polite about it. I LOVE constructive criticism, as many of you already know, so feel free to point out any grammatical or spelling errors I might have made, and give me suggestions! I may not use you suggestions but I certainly appreciate them.

Thanks,

Aozora12


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Inuyasha

Chapter Five

Kagome looked around in confusion, seeing nothing but white all around her. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in the cave after whispering a good night to Touga. How had she ended up in this white expanse? Then it came to her. She was dreaming... but that still didn't explain the lack of a proper dream.

"And what classifies as a proper dream?" a familiar voice reached the young miko's ears. Kagome turned toward the voice and saw Inutaisho standing there, looking the same as he had by his grave, only slightly less pale. He smiled that dangerously charming smile at her. "Why, thank you. It is because I am stronger now, and that, little one, is all thanks to you." he chuckled, having heard her thoughts about his skin color. Kagome blushed at his thanks and nodded slightly to him.

"N-no problem. I'm just glad I can assist you, Touga-sama." she said quietly.

"You didn't answer my question, little one." Touga smiled lightly at her. "What counts as a proper dream?"

"I-I'm not sure. Most of my dreams tend to be about the Shikon no Tama and trying to find it. Most of the time they end up as nightmares because Naraku comes into the picture and kills us all." Kagome explained to the dog general.

"Well, now that Naraku is dead, you should hopefully have no more nightmares." Touga smiled gently at the young woman. Then he sighed. "Now, I suppose I should explain why I am in your dreams, or should I say your lack of dreams?"

"I would appreciate that, Touga-sama." Kagome said quietly with a light smile.

"I have decided that we should get to know each other better, little one. We will be stuck together for several months, after all, and it is difficult to communicate during the day with each other, especially when you are busy doing something else. Talking to each other in your dreams would be much easier, plus you now have a visual of me instead of just a voice floating around in your head... and now I also have a visual of you." he smiled, motioning to her visible body. KAgome stared down at her own body and oddly found herself wondering why she was still in the plain white kimono she'd' worn while she was dead. She looked up and noticed Touga was also in the simple death kimono, and his hair was still hanging loosely around his face.

"Perhaps we should have better visuals of each other?" Kagome suggested. "These appearances make me think we are still dead. Seeing as we are in my dreams, we should be able to change into how we normally appear, yes?"

"A change of appearance would be nice." Touga smiled. "Ladies first." Kagome blushed and giggled gently as she nodded. She looked down at herself and focused on her clothing until she wore her favorite outfit from feudal Japan that she'd taken to wearing lately. It was similar to miko's garb, but the colors were different. Instead of red hakama and a white juban, she wore black hakama and a light blue juban, both gifts from Kaede. Tucked into a darker blue sash at her waist was a simple katana that Sango had given her to train with. Over her shoulders was her favored bow and a quiver of arrows. Her hair was left down, loosely framing her face. Touga looked over the young woman before him with a smile. She truly was a beauty.

"Your turn, Touga-sama." Kagome smiled. The former lord of the west merely smirked and changed his appearance as well. He now wore white warrior's hakama and a white juban with blue coloring on it that was hidden by his spiked armor on his shoulders and arms. A black breastplate covered his chest, connecting with the armor on his back and extending down in between his legs. A red and blue sash was wrapped around his waist, holding three swords in place, all of them easily recognized by Kagome. On his back his tail had morphed to form a sort of cape of white fur that divided into two sections at the bottom. Black boots and black fingerless metal gloves completed the esemble. The inuyokai's long silver hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, his thick bangs left to cover his forehead. Without his long hair in the way his elfen ears and thick jagged purple markings were more visible to Kagome's eyes.

Kagome stared at the inuyokai in awe, a pretty blush covering her cheeks. He had looked fairly attractive and intimidating before in only the simple white kimono, but now he was drop-dead gorgeous and gave new meaning to the word intimidation all at once. His entire appearance screamed power to her, and she found herself wondering how such a strong being could have been killed... by humans, no less. Power aside, he was unusually attractive, even without his normal attire. Now the sight of him made her blush and made her wish they had simply stayed in the white kimonos... for she would surely die soon enough if she continued to look at such a handsome creature.

"See something you like, little one?" Touga grinned, amused at her reaction to his appearance. Clothes really did make the man, er yokai, after all. Kagome only blushed deeper and suddenly found her feet very interesting. The taiyokai chuckled, a sound which only made her blush deeper. "Perhaps we should move to a more comfortable location, little one. You look high uncomfortable, after all. I do wonder why." he grinned as her blush deepened further. This little miko was very fun to tease.

When Kagome merely nodded, Touga focused on their surroundings. Soon the white void went away, replaced with a beautiful scene. The two found themselves on a tiny island in the middle of a lake, sitting under a weeping willow tree with a beautiful waterfall behind them. Surrounding the lake was a field of flowers, which in turn was surrounded by a forest. Kagome looked around in awe at the scenery before her eyes focused on the taiyokai sitting on the ground before her.

"Where are we? This place is too vivid and detailed for it to just be your imagination." she said quietly, afraid her voice would disturb the beauty of the place. Touga merely smiled.

"My mother, the kami of the moon, came together with my father, the first inuyokai created by the kami, and I was their creation. This place is where I was born, little one." he told her with a light smile.

"So you're a demigod?" Kagome gasped. Touga chuckled and shook his head.

"Technically speaking, that is true. But it does not work the way you think it does." he explained. "I have no kami abilities. The only thing connecting me to my mother is the fact that my power is at its peak when the moon is full, and a few of my looks." the dog general smiled. "My father looked more like Inuyasha than anything. That is where Inuyasha gets his looks, though Izayoi's beauty saved him from looking too much like my father. Sesshoumaru gets his looks from my mother and his mother."

"Wow. Your mother must have been very beautiful." Kagome smiled. "What did she look like?"

"Well, she is the one that gave me and my descendants their silver hair. Her hair was so long and almost white. She held a beauty that was unearthly, which makes sense considering she's a kami. Her smile was beautiful and made all my worries as a pup just fade away, and her eyes... I loved my mother's eyes. They looked like molten silver when she was happy, but they could turn to a sharp steel-like appearance if she was angry, and when my father passed on her eyes were so... oh, I can't even describe it. She was so sad when my father died. They were one of the rare relationships out of love in those days." Touga explained with a sad smile as he looked up into the night sky at the moon.

"When I was old enough to be on my own she returned to the moon to grieve. She has watched over me ever since, but she had been forbidden from keeping me from dying." he continued. "I was supposed to die, little one, and so I did... only to be told that my destiny lay in the future and I would be revived in time. My mother was the one that brought me that news in the afterlife. In fact, right before you died, she came to me and told me that you would help me come back to life."

"You really love your mother, don't you." Kagome smiled saddly. The taiyokai nodded and then smiled and changed the subject.

"And what about you? What is your family like?" he asked. Kagome blushed lightly and smiled.

"Well, my mama is the most caring, kind, and affectionate woman I know. She loves to help anyone in need, and she takes wonderful care of me and my little brother, Souta. We live on a shrine and have lots of visitors, so my jii-chan plays the part of a priest and helps the visitors. He's always got a story to tell, even if they aren't true. Every time he sees someone that even looks like a yokai he slaps an ofuda on them and yells 'demon begone!'" Kagome giggled. "His ofuda don't even work. Inuyasha experienced one firsthand and it didn't even zap him. And then my brother, Souta... he's annoying sometimes but I love him dearly. He's growing up to be a handsome boy. I'm sure he'll have ladies all over him soon enough." She smiled, her eyes full of happiness and love as she spoke of her family. Touga found himself wanting to see such happy eyes like that more often.

"And what of your father?" he asked, realizing she hadn't mentioned him yet. At the mention of her father her eyes became sad and he understood that he was dead.

"My otou-san... he was the strongest person I knew for a long time. He loved spending time with me and my brother when he had the chance. He worked a lot, you see, so our family could survive. But he always had a smile on his face when I saw him." Kagome smiled sadly as her eyes filled with tears. "O-one day there was... a-an accident. My brother and I, we were playing in the woods behind our house. Otou-san was watching us. We were only playing tag, so it wasn't like we could get into too much trouble, but he watched us anyways. W-we stopped to catch out breath under a tree that was apparently dead and r-rotting... and something happened and the tree started to fall on us. Otou-san, he... he pushed us out of the way a-and got c-crushed by the tree and..." she was really crying now. She hated remembering that day, but she knew that, at the same time, she needed to talk about it. She still hadn't healed from her father's death.

Kagome was too busy crying to know when Touga pulled her into his arms. He held her close as she turned and cried into his chest. He let her cry until she had no more tears to shed, and then she simply sat there on his lap, leaning into his chest. The dog general knew that, if she weren't already asleep, she surely would be now. Finally, she looked up at him and blushed lightly.

"T-thank you." she said quietly. "I-I really just... n-needed someone to hold me..."

"I know." Touga smiled softly at her. "No thanks are necessary. I just couldn't stand to see you so upset." he told her. "Thank you, for telling me about your father, even though it brought you pain. But it was also a healing process for you, wasn't it? I know that, sometimes, it is better to talk about it and let your emotions out than it is to bottle everything up and never speak on the subject." he smiled. Kagome slowly nodded and leaned against his chest again. Something just felt so right about being in his arms like this. It was like she was made for his arms. Both people were thinking the same thing as the dream began to fade and Kagome began to wake.

-break-

Sango paced the hut anxiously, her eyes full of fear and worry for her adopted sister. Miroku stared into the fire, also worried for his friend, while Shippou sat in Kaede's lap and cried, wanting his adopted mother to return. The old miko merely drank her tea calmly, knowing Kagome would return in time. As for a certain red-clad hanyou... Inuyasha was sitting across the hut's small fire from Miroku, staring into the flames calmly. He had watched Kagome leave the night before, but he'd known for a few days before that she was planning to leave soon. He knew she would come back when the time was right, so he had no reason to worry. Kagome could defend herself, and he had the feeling she would stay as far away from trouble as she could. He knew she needed to leave, there was just something about her that made him know she needed to leave, and he was certain that, when she returned, she would finally have that happiness that she'd sought after for so long. She deserved to be happy, especially after forfeiting her happiness for the last three years in order to track down the Shikon no Tama shards.

-BREAK-

Good morning! I say that because it's only about seven in the morning right now and I'm posting this chapter instead of studying for a quiz I have in, oh, an hour. Just kidding, it's in two hours. I have plenty of time to study, especially since this class is soooooo easy!

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I've introduced The Dreams. Yes, these dreams will be very important to this story, but I won't spoil anything by telling you how. And, as promised, This chapter is longer than my others so far. You're welcome ;)

Well, now I'm off to eat some breakfast. I feel in a plum and toast mood today. :)

Bye, now!

-Aozora12

yay! plums!


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Inuyasha

Chapter Six

Kagome looked around the small cave with a light smile. She was glad she had brought several blankets and a pillow in her big yellow bag. She had arranged those near the back of the cave to form some sort of a bed. Near the bed she had put her clothes, folded neatly and covered with a smaller blanket to keep bugs and dirt out. A small fire was going towards the cave entrance, some fish cooking over it. Her bag was now beside her bed; it was being used for various purposes, mostly for storing and carrying food or wood for the fire; and her bow was propped up against the cave wall near the entrance. Overall the small cave seemed more cozy than before. It would certainly be an acceptable home for the next few weeks... or months... She really had no idea how long she would be here. Touga never answered her directly on that, only telling her it would be shorter than a year since they were in his ancestor's birthplace.

The young miko sighed as her thoughts wandered to the inu taiyokai once again. She felt like he was hiding something from her, but she couldn't even begin to imagine what it was. The inuyokai could be so vague sometimes... and then sometimes it was almost as if he disappeared completely. His presence in her mind would vanish for upwards of two hours at a time. When she asked him why he'd merely told her he was resting to restore his strength, just like what she did when she slept. Kagome felt that this wasn't the entire truth, but she didn't press the issue any further. She trusted Touga and, if he needed to keep something from her, she was certain it was for a good reason. With that in mind, she grabbed her bow and left the cave to look for some berries to go with her fish.

-break-

"It is your turn to pick a location, little one." Touga smiled as they stood in the white expanse of Kagome's dream. They had met every night in her dreams and just talked, sometimes in a location of Touga's choosing and other times in places Kagome chose. They talked about many things; their childhood, their experiences, some battles; and they simply got to know each other. Over the past few nights Kagome had started to notice that Touga was less pale than the day before. Now he was slightly tanned and had a healthy glow to him, and she was certain this was because he was gaining plenty of strength from his ancestor's birthplace.

"I can't think of any place this time, Touga-sama." Kagome sighed after a while. "You can choose the location."

"Surely there is some place you can think of?" Touga questioned. "It does not have to be from this time, little one."

"I-I know that... but thinking of my own time is painful right now." Kagome said quietly. "The well was destroyed during the battle with Naraku. It can be rebuilt, of course, but that makes little difference. I don't think the well will let me through again."

"And what makes you think that?" Touga asked.

"The Shikon no Tama... that's what allowed me to travel through the well. It's been purified out of existence so I don't think the well will let me pass anymore. Even if it does allow it, I will probably be stuck in my time... and I don't want that." Kagome sighed heavily. "I don't fit in anymore in that time. If I had to choose what era I stayed in, I would pick this era... but that means that I won't see my family again."

"Nonesense." Inutaisho huffed, crossing his arms and surprising Kagome. "That well has always had magic. It was never due to that bauble known as the Shikon. Really, how much power can the souls of one priestess and three yokai have? Unless the yokai were of my caliber, of course..." he smirked haughtily at Kagome, who frowned playfully at him.

"I see where your sons get their arrogance."

"It is not arrogance if you can back it up." the dog general retorted with a grin. "Were it not for the kami I would have never been so easily injured by Ryokutsei. Even if I was injured in such a way, I would not have been defeated by Takamaru. It would have been a struggle, but I would have survived. But the kami are tricky. They have some sort of elaborate plan for me and it involved my death, so they had me die. They killed me off." he snorted. "In any case, a yokai of my caliber would not have pointlessly attacked a priestess, and they most certainly would not have been so easily trapped within a little bauble. The yokai Midoriko fought were, while stronger than most, very weak compared to me. Such weak souls could not possibly power a time traveling well."

"Then why could I not pass without the jewel?" Kagome asked.

"Have you ever thought that, perhaps the well worked by the power of the kami? They have have wanted you to stay at those times, and it was just a coincidence that you did not have the jewel on you. It wouldn't have mattered, even if you had the jewel. Like I said, the kami are tricky. They see things we cannot and will get their way using any method they can think of." Touga told her. "I would know. My own mother is a kami, after all. I have never met anyone so mysteriously crafty and vague."

"So... you really think I will be able to go to my time when the well if repaired?" Kagome questioned the inuyokai. Touga smiled lightly at her, one of his famous smiles that made Kagome blush.

"I do believe that is the case, little one. Once my body is restored, I have no doubt you will be able to come and go as you please, unless that kami say otherwise..." at her frown he chuckled. "Normally the kami have good reasons, little one. You must have faith that all will turn out fine."

"You have such faith in the kami." the young miko noted. Touga only grinned.

"Of course. Like I said, my mother is one... and the kami created my father and all seven of my uncles and aunts."

"You never mentioned the uncles and aunts before." Kagome pointed out. Touga stopped and thought for a moment before laughing.

"You're right. I haven't told you about them!" he laughed. "Well, perhaps we should go somewhere more comfortable first. And, like I said, little one, it is your turn to pick the location."

**-BREAK-**

Hi everybody! Sorry for the short chapter, but I promise the next one will be a little longer. In any case, I would appreciate it if you did not complain about the chapter length. I write in short bursts and I find a good stopping point that connects to the next section. That's just how I roll, and I have done that with all my stories so PLEASE stop complaining! I could be writing in 100 word sprints, like one of the authors I'm following! Not that I complain about that, because the way they write is unique and the story is well-written and very interesting. :)

In any case, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, however short it may be. I do have a plan for this story, it's just going to come slowly, especially with how busy I am lately. College, man. Who knew? I have and Egnlish 101 paper to write by Tuesday, a test in Anatomy to study for, and a project due in Psychology... so it may be a while before I update ANY of my stories again. As it is I need to get ready for class right now instead of writing this, so... yeah.

Anyone who wants to facebook me send me a PM! I would like you to PM me with a good reason to trust you, of course. Don't worry, I will not abuse your trust as long as you don't abuse mine! :)

See ya later alligators!

-Aozora12


	7. Chapter 7

I do not own Inuyasha

Chapter Seven

Kagome looked around as the white expanse of her dream turned into a small clearing surrounded by trees. From the looks of the sky it was sunset. In the middle of the clearing was a small campfire with Touga already sitting by it. He smiled that dangerously attractive smile at her, chuckling as she blushed and slowly moved to join him by the fire. They sat in silence for a while, staring into the fire, before Touga spoke.

"I guess I should start with the beginning when talking about my aunts and uncles. You see, long before humans lived in this land, many large beasts roamed the land and created chaos. The kami sought to end this mindless destruction, so they created the Great Eight, which includes my father and his brothers and sisters. My father was the first one the kami created, in the very lake where you are now sleeping beside. They gifted him with wisdom, swordsmanship, stealth, poison, and raw power and told him to bring peace to the lands. After that they made my uncles and aunts and all eight of them later became the leaders of a different inuyokai clan, some with more members than others depending on how quickly they bred and whatnot. My father's clan only has me and my sons but one of my aunts had ten children of her own, who each had ten children of their own, who had children of their own and so on and so forth. Anyways, my aunts and uncles helped my father take down the beasts. But there was one beast that was much more powerful than all the rest. Even the combined strength of the Great Eight could not defeat him, and they were all nearly destroyed. But my mother, who had been watching my father for a long time, had lent my father some of her power so he could destroy the vile creature. When the battle was over my father had lost an eye but had gained the fang from the beast that would later become the Sounga." Touga explained, chuckling when Kagome gasped upon hearing about the Sounga.

"So that's how it was created? Even Totosai didn't know how you had gotten such a sword, since he hadn't made it for you." Kagome told him. He only nodded.

"It was my father's sword. I was the only one able to control it after he passed, although Sesshoumaru might have had enough strength to wield it when I passed on. But I did not want that sword to exist in this world anymore. It was far too evil to do anyone any good."

"I think we all saw that firsthand when Takemaru got a hold of it..." Kagome sighed and then looked up at the taiyokai. "Say, how did your mother and father come together? You said your mother lent your father strength during that battle..."

"Hai. Mother had been watching father for a long time. She told me once that she'd started out as curious, but that quickly turned into love as she saw his strength and loyalty. But she could not act upon her love, for it was forbidden for a kami to love a mortal. However, when she saw him about to fall at the hands of the beast, she could not help but give him some of her own strength. She tried to do it without him seeing her but failed. My father saw her and was captivated instantly. He somehow managed to fight and defeat the beast, but immediately after went in search of my mother, the beautiful woman that had lent her strength to him. He became almost obsessed with finding her, searching every last square inch of the land until there was no place he had not looked for her. Upon seeing such loyalty and determination in my father, and after learning how much my mother loved him, the kami granted them the right to be with each other." Touga explained to Kagome as she listened intently to the story. She practically had hearts in her eyes as she listened with a smile to the romantic story of how his parents got to be with each other.

"How sweet." she sighed. "It's like it's right out of a fairy tale."

"Where do you think you humans got your fairy tales?" Touga chuckled. "All myths and legends hold some truth to them. little one." Kagome could only nod to that and wait as he continued with the story. "In any case, my father had shown how loyal and determined he was to find the woman that had saved him and given him the strength to take down his greatest foe, so my mother was granted the right to be with him for a time, so long as she kept up with her duties of a kami. My father was at his wit's end with trying to find my mother. In his last effort to find her he went to his birthplace, where the kami made him. You see, he had no idea that my mother was a kami. All he knew was that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and she had given him the strength to take down the beast. To him, that was enough to make him fall in love with her. Back then it didn't take much, you know? A strong, beautiful woman was rare and highly valuable, sought after by every man."

"Hmph. Nowadays strong women are feared." Kagome sighed, crossing her arms. "You wouldn't believe how many men I scared off simply by telling them that I was the Shikon Miko." Touga noticed she looked a little deflated as she said this. She was obviously disappointed by this, as she clearly wanted a man in her life that would love her. She had no idea that that man was sitting right next to her, somewhat amused by this thought. She had no idea what was coming to her.

"You know, to yokai, a strong woman is very attractive in her own right. If she's already beautiful, like you are, she's that much more attractive." Touga grinned at her, watching as a pretty blush came to her cheeks. Kagome turned her eyes to the ground, not sure of how to respond. Nobody had called her beautiful or attractive before... well, except for Miroku but he was a pervert. But such a handsome man like Touga had never even bothered to look her way, let alone call her beautiful. She just didn't know how to respond. Touga only chuckled softly and returned to his story, hoping to get Kagome more comfortable around him once again.

"My father truly wanted to find my mother, and he would do anything to find her. He went to his birthplace in hopes that, maybe, the kami would hear his prayers. He pleaded with the kami to let him find my mother, but little did he know that the kami that answered him was the woman he sought after. My mother had been told she could be with my father if he so desired... although there was one catch. They could have only one child and she could never be with another man for the rest of her immortal life. But my mother loved him enough to agree to these terms. When my father prayed to the kami, she answered and told him to go to a special place. Do you remember that place I showed you when we first started these dreams?" he asked Kagome, whose blush had finally faded.

"Yeah. That was your birth place, right?"

"Hai. It was also the place where my parents met, truly met, for the first time. My mother sent my father there and, when he arrived, she was standing on that little island, waiting for him. And, well, it wasn't too long after that when I came into the picture." he laughed lightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's pretty much how it happened. My parents were happy together, even though their time was relatively short compared to the lifespan of a yokai. My father was still a protector of the lands, you see. When I was about fifty or so, and mind you I was still very young at that age even though my body was fully grown, my father received word of a powerful yokai causing chaos and destruction across the land. He set out to destroy the yokai alone, thinking he could handle it... but he underestimated his opponent and received a fatal wound. He killed the yokai and made it back to the palace, but not even my mother could save him from death. He died in her arms and she was just so... heartbroken." Touga sighed, remembering how broken his mother had been. It was a very, very long time ago but he still remembered it well. "After that my mother stayed until I was strong enough to take over my father;s responsibilities, and then she left to the moon to mourn. She would come to visit me every now and then, but she stopped doing that around the time I was intended to die. She knew about my impending death and just couldn't bear to see another person she loved die, so she avoided me until after I was dead, and then she finally came to me with news about my future revival through your help. And here we are now."

"So how much longer do you think it will be before your body regenerates?" Kagome asked curiously.

"Hm, I'm not quite sure. It's been, what, two months since we came here?" He questioned. Kagome only nodded. "It shouldn't be too much longer, but how long, exactly, I cannot say. I certainly feel stronger, but not strong enough to make my body yet and certainly not strong enough to make my body the strength I was before I died."

"Well, at least you're not deathly pale anymore." Kagome sighed. "Take all the time you need, Touga-sama. It's not like I have anything to do, anyways. With no more Naraku and with the well still being rebuilt there's really nothing for me to do." she sighed wistfully, almost missing the days of hunting Naraku. While it was good that he was gone, his death left her with no purpose in life. She did not fit in with the people of her own time anymore, she had used up the greater majority of her miko powers with her last attack on Naraku and could not longer use them, and the lands seemed rather peaceful now that Naraku was gone. What was poor Kagome to do?

"Well, don't get too down, little one. I have the feeling something exciting will happen quite soon." Touga chuckled knowingly. Yes, he knew what would happen very soon. He could sense the power in her starting to build, even if she had no idea about it. Ah, but he wasn't about to spoil her surprise. No, that would be no fun at all. It was better to sit back and watch the fun while he was tucked away in the far corners of her mind, safe from her impending fury when she discovered he'd known about it all along.

Kagome gave Touga a strange look, wondering what he was up to. He obviously knew something and, from the look on his face, he wasn't going to tell her. He almost looked just like Inuyasha with the way he smirked, one fang hanging out of his mouth... only Touga looked much more dangerous when he did it, and Kagome found herself hiding a blush as she thought that it was actually rather attractive in a thrilling and dangerous sort of way. Thankfully Touga was too lost in his own thoughts to notice and, as the dream slowly started to fade, Kagome wondered again what he was thinking... and why he was keeping it from her.

-BREAK-

I'm still alive! I didn't die, or get terminally ill, so no worries about your precious updates! lol

I'm so sorry about how long it has been since I last updated! I never knew college could be so stressful and time consuming! Thankfully my fall break starts next week so I will try to update ALL of my stories at least once.

Anyways, to compensate for the lateness of this chapter I made it extra long (compared to what I normally write). You know, the story about Touga's parents could be an ENTIRE story in and of itself. Maybe I should write that...

Please review! You all know I love constructive criticism, just please no flames. If you cannot be courteous and polite while reviewing I WILL flag your comment and then I will get my friends on their accounts to flag it, too. (Okay, so I'm not good at making good threats but you get the point! No flames, PLEASE!)

Anyone who wants to be facebook friends send me a PM!

Thanks,

Aozora12


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own Inuyasha or its characters. I DO own the plot to this story.

Chapter Eight

Inuyasha groaned as Sango and Shippou found his hiding spot. Again. He moved to run away again but apparently Miroku had gotten involved in this attempt and had come up behind the hanyou with some paralyzing sutras. He had slapped one on the hanyou's back and then pushed him out from his hiding spot, a nice dense patch of bushes in the middle of the forest. Inuyasha landed with a thud in front of the taijiya and the kit with Miroku coming out of the forest behind him.

"This ends now, Inuyasha." Sango said angrily. "Go after Kagome!"

"I told you I wasn't going to!" Inuyasha growled.

"Why not?! She's out there all alone with no one to protect her!" Shippou cried, just as angry with the hanyou he viewed as an uncle. It had been four months since Kagome left in the middle of the night. Since then Sango, Miroku, and Shippou had started to gang up on Inuyasha, trying to get him to go after her and bring her back.

"She's a big girl! She can take care of herself!"

"Inuyasha, Kagome died!" Sango shouted. "How can you just stay here, knowing that she died once, and that it's possible she could die again?!"

"I agree, Inuyasha." Miroku spoke up. "Kagome may be able to take care of herself, but what happens if a powerful yokai attacks her? It's almost mating season, Inuyasha, and you know how vulnerable Kagome would be to a powerful and lustful yokai."

"Look, Kagome needs to do this. I don't know how I know it, but she really needs to do this and she needs to do it alone. She will be fine. I just know it. And when we see her again I have the feeling she will be so much happier than she was ever before. You guys saw how depressed she looked during those few days when she was awake before she left. She looked so sad and alone and it didn't matter what I said or did, she was still sad." Inuyasha told them, his voice much softer than it normally was. The gang noticed this and started to calm down a little as they stared down at the hanyou. "Look, I don't know why she left, where she's going, or how long she'll be gone. I can't even track her down because her scent has been gone for too long. But I know she will be okay. She needs to do this, guys. She'll be back, and when she comes back I just know she'll be happier. So, please, just wait for her."

"You promise she'll be back?" Sango asked softly, worry for her friend evident in her voice. Miroku nodded solemnly in agreement, staring at Inuyasha expectantly, as did Shippou. Inuyasha stared up at them for a moment, his eyes serious and looking almost exactly like Sesshoumaru's eyes at that moment.

"I swear it."

-break-

Kagome sighed softly with a light smile on her face as she stepped into the cool lake water. It was rather hot today and the cold water was a welcome treat. Discarding her clothes at the shore of the lake, Kagome quickly dove into the cool water. When she resurfaced she smiled as the heat of the day was cooled off quickly by the water.

"_Kagome, swim to the center of the lake._" Touga suddenly suggested.

"_Why, Touga-sama?_" Kagome questioned.

"_I have a good reason, little one. Just do it._" he chuckled. Kagome shrugged and started swimming to the center of the lake. She had no reason to doubt that Touga had a good reason. Even if he didn't tell her that reason, she knew she could trust him. Besides, what was so bad about swimming to the center of the lake? She could used the exercise anyways.

Once at the center of the lake, Kagome tread water for a while, wondering why Touga wanted her out here. She tried asking him but he only responded with a gentle command to simply stay in the center of the lake for a while. After a while she started to feel strange. It was a feeling she'd never felt before, almost like something was gathering in her stomach at a rapid pace and forming some sort of dense mass in the pit of her stomach. Then that mass suddenly exploded and Kagome felt as if her body was suddenly on fire. She let out a pain-filled scream and just barely managed to keep her head above water as the pain coursed through her body.

"T-Touga-sama, what's happening to me?!" Kagome cried out loud as the pain intensified, bringing tears to her eyes. She felt like her body was being stretched and pulled in ways it shouldn't be pulled. "It hurts! Make it stop!" she sobbed. Suddenly a bright blue light appeared from the sky and landed on her. The calm lake was suddenly full of rough waves, all emanating from where the light was shining on Kagome. The pain got so bad that Kagome couldn't keep herself afloat anymore, but then she suddenly felt strong arms wrap around her and hold her up so she wouldn't drown. Kagome was in too much pain to care about who had grabbed her. As the light got brighter and the pain got worse she let out another scream and then suddenly passed out.

-break-

Kagome awoke to the sound of a familiar male voice calling her name. She slowly opened her eyes but everything was dark and hazy. From how dark it was she figured it was nighttime, but that was all she could really tell about what was around her. Trying to focus her eyes made her dizzy so she closed her eyes again and let out a soft moan. She heard her name being called again. It sounded like it was coming from right behind her, almost like the person was holding her and speaking into her ear.

"Kagome." the familiar voice called gently, and then another voice suddenly joined the familiar voice. Instead of a man's voice, this one was clearly a woman. She felt gentle fingers on her cheeks as the woman spoke.

"Open your eyes, dear. You will not be dizzy again." the woman told her softly. Kagome hesitantly opened her eyes to find a very beautiful woman standing over her. No, beautiful wasn't the right word. She was gorgeous, the most beautiful creature Kagome had ever seen. She couldn't hope to describe how beautiful this woman was, so she focused on the features she could describe. Her hair, it was so white, like freshly fallen snow on a clear sunny morning, untouched by even the smallest of animals. Her eyes were a color she could only describe of as swirls of molten silver with the faintest hints of gold. Her lips were ruby red and her smile was so gentle and calming. "Good morning, sleepy." the woman smiled softly at Kagome, her voice sounding simply angelic.

Kagome blinked slowly and tried to look around, but it was too dark to see anything that wasn't directly in front of her. She managed to look around and see enough to know that she was still naked and wet from her swim, and she seemed to be sitting in an equally naked man's lap. The man had his rather strong-looking arms wrapped around her, hiding her chest from view while also keeping her warm. She didn't have enough strength to look behind her to see who the man was and, oddly enough, she didn't feel uncomfortable in this position. They were both nude, after all, and she was sitting in his lap with her back against his bare chest and his arms around her. Under normal circumstances she would be freaking out... but it oddly felt natural with this man...

"W-what... happened...?" Kagome managed to ask quietly, her voice scratchy and sore from her previous screams.

"Don't talk, little one." The man holding her whispered gently in her ear. His voice sounded so familiar and she wanted to know who it was, but the woman in front of her spoke, temporarily ceasing her curiosity about the man.

"There is quite a lot to explain, dear." the woman told her gently. "I want you to let me explain everything, okay? And I want you to keep an open mind about this..." Kagome slowly nodded and the woman smiled gently before saying the one thing Kagome hadn't expected her to say. "You aren't human."

-BREAK-

Okay, so I know this chapter isn't my best work, but I really needed to just find a way to connect the previous chapters to the next one. I apologize if it is sort of sloppy or just doesn't sound like it's completely my work (even though it is).

Anyways, despite the sloppiness and shortness and the rushing, I hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter will hopefully come soon.

Thanks for reading :)

Aozora12


	9. Chapter 9

I do not own Inuyasha

Chapter Nine

Kagome stared at the woman in shock. She wasn't... human? But... what else could she be? Her parents were human; she was certain about that. Heck, she'd even had miko powers for the longest time... so she couldn't be a yokai... could she? But what else could she be? If she wasn't human and wasn't yokai or hanyou, then what was she?

"I... don't understand..." Kagome finally managed to say weakly as she stared at the woman in confusion. Her throat hurt too much to say more than that and, once again, the man holding her on her lap gently told her not to talk.

"You are not human, dear, but you are not a yokai, either. You are a very rare creature, created by the kami for the specific purpose of destroying Naraku, which you have done. Since you have completed what you were created for, the kami have chosen to reward you. The rest of your life will be peaceful, and you will be able to spend it with the one person you were created to be with after your job was done." the woman explained to her gently.

"But... what am I?" Kagome asked, ending with a cough.

"I told you not to speak, little one. You will only injure your throat." the man holding her said gently, his voice filled with concern. Kagome once again was filled with curiosity. Who was this man? Why did his voice sound so familiar and why did it feel so right to be sitting in his lap, even though they were both naked? She was brought out of her thoughts when the woman spoke again.

"You are a unique creature, dear. The kami made you, and therefore you are technically a daughter of the kami." the woman explained. "As for what, exactly, you are... well, that is hard to say. You are a unique creature, as I have said a few times already. Your form can change according to the will of the kami. You were born a normal human so you could live in the future undetected by both yokai in human disguises who would devour you and other miko who would teach you to hate yokai. When you went through the well the kami placed the Shikon no Tama inside of you and gave you miko powers. Therefore you became a different breed of humans, known as a miko. When you died you were, theoretically, supposed to go to the human section of the realm of the dead, but you ended up in the yokai section because the kami changed your form once again, just before you died. Your form now is a yokai, dear, although you didn't quite look the part until recently."

"Recently?" Kagome questioned, quiet enough so her throat wouldn't hurt. The man holding her only sighed, knowing he couldn't get her to stop talking.

"At first it was small things. Your canine teeth were longer and you had a larger appetite." the woman told her. KAgome thought about this and noticed she was right. She hadn't really noticed the teeth, but she had indeed had a larger appetite since she died. "As time went by, power started to gather in you, preparing for your complete transformation. When that power reached its peak, my son told you to go to the center of the lake, where the kami allowed the power to be released so you could change form once again. And now your from is that of an inuyokai, dear." the woman smiled gently, taking out a small mirror and holding it up so Kagome could look into it. Kagome gasped at what she saw.

She really was a yokai now. Her hair was still the same, just longer, and her eyes were still the same blue they had always been. But her ears were pointed now, her lips were redder, and she had light blue wavy markings on her cheeks, one wave on each cheek. Kagome opened her mouth and saw fangs. Then she slowly raised one hand and saw that she had claws, and her wrists also had a wavy marking on them. Kagome looked back into the mirror again and decided to appease her curiosity about the man behind her. Shifting her head slightly allowed her to look at the man behind her. She gasped in shock when she saw Touga's face in the mirror.

"T-Touga-sama...?" Kagome questioned softly, trying to look behind her. She winced as she tried to turn her head, and she finally gave up. Thankfully, Touga moved so she could see his face. He smiled softly at her.

"It is me, little one. I told you the kami had a reason and a plan for everything. When your power was released the kami returned my strength and my body to me so I could keep you from drowning." he told her. Then he looked to the other woman. "This is my mother, little one. She is the one that returned my body to me and tried to ease your pain during your transformation. Without her you would have felt a lot more pain." Kagome looked to the woman now with a small, weak smile.

"T-thank you, Tsuki-sama." she said weakly, calling her the only name she knew to call her. Most of the humans called the kami of the moon Tsuki-sama (tsuki = moon). "I must say, your son was right. You are really pretty." The moon kami smiled and blushed lightly.

"Why, thank you, dear." she smiled. "He said the same about you and I agree. You may call me Tsukimi, by the way." Kagome nodded with a deep blush spreading across her cheeks. Touga had called her pretty? Wait. She was sitting in Touga's lap! And they were both naked! And his arms were practically wrapped around her breasts! And she felt his tail wrapped around her lap! Tsukimi watched as the young woman's face turned tomato red and she chuckled, looking up at her son. "It seems she's quite flustered about your position, son. Perhaps you should say what you want now, before she faints on us."

"Perhaps I should." Touga chuckled, and Kagome felt the vibrations of his chest. Hearing his laugh always calmed Kagome, for some reason, and she felt herself becoming a little less tense as she sat in his lap. Touga looked down at the young woman he was holding with a smile. "Kagome, there is a reason you were sent to me in the after life. It was not just so you could bring me back to the realm of the living. It was part of your reward for destroying Naraku, and part of my reward for being killed by the kami so Inuyasha would grow into what he is now and help you defeat Naraku. We are both being rewarded by my revival, Kagome."

"W-what do you mean?" Kagome asked quietly.

"Have you ever heard of soul mates, Kagome?" Touga questioned. Kagome nodded slowly and Touga smiled softly at her. "Well, little one, we are soul mates."

-BREAK-

Ha! You guys thought she was going to be just a yokai, right? HA! She's much more than that!

Hope you guys liked it. Sorry it was a little short again, and I left you another cliffie. Seriously, the kami told me to! Those kami and their crafty secretive plans! Who knows what else is going to happen because of them?

Anyways, please review! I love constructive criticism, especially if it's polite, and I love suggestions, too. So give me your best suggestions!

I might post another chapter soon.

Or I might not.

Love y'all!

-Aozora12


	10. Chapter 10

I do not own Inuyasha

Chapter Ten

Touga looked across the cave at Kagome, who was sitting quietly by the fire, staring into the flames. She had dressed in the clothes she'd had on before her life-changing swim, and he was still quite exposed, though now he at least had a blanket draped over everything essential. Kagome would have to go into a village to get him something decent to wear until he could go to his old palace and get his own clothes and armor, as well as a decent sword. But that would have to happen later, when Kagome had finally come to terms with everything.

She was still trying to understand what was going on. She'd just discovered she wasn't human, but rather a daughter of the kami who was created just to kill Naraku. Now she was being rewarded by bringing her soul mate back to life and then changing forms to match him. And her soul mate was Touga, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's father. And, to top everything off, her new form came with incredible senses that she just couldn't get used to! She had already been overwhelmed by how strong her sense of smell and her sense of hearing were three times. Add to that the fact that her vision was much sharper, which was giving her a headache (like trying to understand everything wasn't already doing that), and the fact that she now also had several instincts that were acting up... and you come out with a very confused Kagome. Touga could only pity her and wait for her to finally understand everything and then get used to her senses. Then he could help her with the instincts. Who better to teach her than another inuyokai, after all?

Kagome sighed heavily and closed her eyes, remembering what had happened after Touga told her they were soul mates. She had almost passed out. If you think about it, she was overloaded with all this information to begin with. Learning that Touga was her soul mate nearly made her mind crash and explode because of how overloaded it was. But she'd managed to stay conscious and take this in. Touga and his mother, Tsukimi, were patient and waited silent as Kagome stared up at Touga for several moments, trying to process everything. In the end she had blinked and slowly nodded, thinking it best to just accept what she was told. Otherwise her mind really would explode.

Now that she thought about it, Kagome was surprised at her reaction to Touga's words. True, she'd been attracted to him since she first met him in the after life, and she'd grown very close to him over the four months she'd known him. Those dreams, especially, helped her to get to know him well, and she couldn't deny the fact that he was everything she'd ever looked for in a man. He was strong, loyal, brave, honorable, kind, wise, and handsome to boot. But she'd never in her right mind thought he would, not only take an interest in her, but also be her soul mate. She should have freaked out when he told her they were soul mates. But she'd simply nodded and accepted it. Why? If he were anyone else she would have lost it, so why did she accept it so easily? Perhaps it had something to do with how natural it felt to talk to him in her dreams, and to sit in his lap despite them both being naked.

Kagome looked up at Touga as her thoughts slowly started to calm. She still had so many questions... but she knew that if she asked them she would only end up more confused than she was now. So she slowly began to accept the facts she'd been given. She found herself breaking everything down into comprehensible sections. First, she was not human, nor yokai, but rather something unique. Second, she had pleased the kami by destroying Naraku and getting rid of the jewel, so she was being rewarded with a soul mate and a peaceful life. Third, Touga was apparently that soul mate, and he was also being rewarded for allowing the kami to kill him over two hundred years ago. Fourth, Touga's mother was really pretty and very kind. And fifth... wait, that was it.

Touga watched as Kagome's eyes showed confusion as she looked up at him. Then slowly her eyes began to show thoughtfulness, and finally acceptance. After several minutes of staring at him, she blinked slowly and smiled lightly at him before she spoke. "So... we are soul mates?" she questioned quietly, not daring to raise her voice much above a whisper for fear of hurting her overly sensitive ears.

"Hai." Touga responded, equally quiet for the same reason. He waited patiently for her to speak again, willing to answer any and all questions she had but also wanting to give her all the time and space she needed until she adjusted to her new situation. She was quiet for a few more minutes before looking at him thoughtfully.

"What will happen now?" she asked softly.

"Well, when you are ready, I will begin to court you. But first I need to teach you about that new body of yours." he told her.

"What do you mean?"

"You are new to being an inuyokai, Kagome. You do not know your own strength anymore. That is what you need to learn first, while also learning about your new instincts. There is much more I will need to teach you, little one, but I will save all that for later. I do not want you to be overwhelmed with too much information." Touga told her gently, with a small smile. Kagome returned the smile, grateful for his consideration.

"Then what? After I train and we start courting, what happens?"

"We will court until we mate, and then you will come to live with me in my old palace, if it is not in ruins by now... if it is I will simply build a new palace." the former taiyokai shrugged. "After that, we will simply live. We will have a very long life together, little one, so do not worry too much about the future. We will make those decisions when we get there." To that, Kagome could only nod. She returned to looking into the fire for a while before Touga spoke again. "How are you adjusting to your senses?"

"It's still too much for me..." Kagome said with a soft moan. "Even whispering seems like shouting and the smallest scent can make me nauseous. How can you live like this?"

"Practice." Touga chuckled softly. "There are ways to tone down your senses. That is one of the first things I will teach you. But right now you need to rest, little one. You have had a very long day, and I know you are tired." Kagome nodded slowly and moved over to her bedding. It didn't take long for her exhaustion to catch up to her, making her fall asleep within minutes as her taiyokai soul mate watched over her from across the cave.

-break-

The next morning found Kagome still asleep. Touga knew she would sleep for quite a while as her body adjusted to her new change. He was content to simply sit and watch her sleep, silently planning on how he was going to train her. She needed to learn about her senses, first, otherwise she would be constantly overwhelmed by them. Next she would need to be taught about her instincts, her major ones first. Touga would literally have to teach her how to be an inuyokai. After that she would need to know about her strength and then about her powers. But first she simply needed to rest. Once she had adjusted to her new body Touga would then start the actual training.

It was about midday when the former taiyokai sensed a powerful aura headed in their direction. Kagome was still asleep and defenseless, and Touga still hadn't returned to his full strength yet. But he relaxed once he noticed who the aura belonged to. It seemed his eldest son had been informed of his revival, likely by Touga's mother who loved visiting her eldest grandchild. Soon enough the current lord of the west walked into the cave, looking over everything in the cave with keen eyes.

He saw the miko turned yokai sleeping against the far wall, her things scattered around her in a somewhat organized manner. He noticed his father sitting near the fire, naked save for a blanket wrapped around his waist. From a single glance he could tell that his father was still not at his full strength, but that didn't matter at the moment. Sesshoumaru was merely glad to have his father back, even if his relationship with him in the past had been rather... unpleasant. But that was mostly due to his own foolishness in constantly seeking power and thinking he could possibly be even stronger than his father. Now he realized that, no matter what, his father always had more years on him, and therefore more strength, wisdom, and experience.

"Welcome back, father. Grandmother informed me of your return, as well as the situation with the miko." Sesshoumaru said, giving a slight bow of respect to his father, who merely nodded.

"It is good to be back, son." Touga smiled lightly. "Though I do wish I had some clothes."

"Hn. I was informed of your need of clothing." Sesshoumaru said, pulling out a package from his haori and handing it to his father. Touga opened the package and grinned when he discovered it was his old clothing, minus the armor. "Your armor is at your old palace. It is difficult to carry all that without actually wearing it."

"True." Touga chuckled. "And I doubt I am yet strong enough to carry it myself. I will have to remain here until my full strength returns. Thank you for the clothes, however."

"Hn." was all Sesshoumaru said. He glanced at the miko now. "This Sesshoumaru was most pleased to learn who you soul mate is. She is one of the few I have respect for, and she will make an excellent mate for you, father."

"I'm glad I have your approval, then." Touga smiled, looking toward Kagome for a moment before turning back to his son. "You have certainly changed in my absence, Sesshoumaru."

"This Sesshoumaru has realized how foolish I was all those years ago." the taiyokai responded. "This Sesshoumaru also has an answer for the question you last asked him. He does, indeed, have something to protect now. I must thank you for giving me the Tenseiga, for otherwise I would not have something to protect."

"And who is it that you protect?" Touga inquired with a curious grin. Sesshoumaru was silent for a moment before turning to leave the cave.

"You will meet that person soon enough." was all he said before leaving. Touga only chuckled and watched his son walk away, thankful for whatever had changed him so much. He had a feeling that, this time around, his relationship with his eldest would be much more like that of a father to a son. Now, he wondered how Inuyasha would react to all of this...

-BREAK-

Hmmm... how WOULD Inuyasha react to all that? And how long until he finds out about it? Questions, questions... and I have the answers. Too bad I'm not sharing them yet! Haha!

Reviews, please! But PLEASE don't say "next chapter please" or something like that. If you want constant updates, please take into account that people DO have lives outside of fanfiction and it takes a while to write another chapter! If you think you can do it faster and have the same quality of writing that I do, then write it yourself! Thank you.

Other than that, please review, but be courteous about it. Thanks! :)

Aozora12

#watchingspongebob #eatingdinnertoo #chickenfettucinnialfredo #toomanyhashtags


	11. Chapter 11

I do not own Inuyasha

Chapter Eleven

Touga's strength was returning to him quickly. One the first day of his return, his power level was close to that of Inuyasha's. After about two weeks it had risen to match Sesshoumaru's, and currently, about six weeks since that day, his strength was about the same as Ryokutsei's strength. He only had a little further to go until his strength was fully returned.

Kagome was utterly shocked at how strong Touga really was. She could feel his power rolling off of him in waves, his intimidating aura pushing against her much smaller and weaker one. Even when Kagome was a miko she knew she could never have gotten a scratch on him. He was much too powerful, and he still wasn't at full strength. His strength almost scared her... until she realized that she trusted him. She knew he would never hurt her, no matter how intimidating his power was. Although... she wondered why he wasn't simply concealing his aura. Surely that would be best, right? It would keep unwanted visitors away. But, then again, the strength of his aura would also keep unwanted visitors away. Nobody was surely stupid enough to actually go towards something so powerful, something that had no equal in the world... right?

"Touga-sama?" Kagome questioned, looking up at the inutaisho from where she was cleaning off her catch, a plump rabbit. Over the past six weeks Touga had taught her many things. Controlling her sensitive senses was the first thing she had learned. Then he'd taught her how to handle her strength. She had broken her favorite bow simply because she did not know how to control her strength. What she previously needed a lot of strength to do now only needed the barest minimum of her strength. After finally mastering her strength they sat down and had a very long discussion about instincts, and Kagome's face was bright red for the majority of the talk, but we'll get to that later. Now Touga was currently teaching her how to track and hunt game, moving stealthily and attacking with speed. So far Kagome had only managed to snag a few rabbits and squirrels, but she was getting better. They would stay at the cave for another few weeks until she mastered hunting and started to learn about her powers through actual training.

Touga looked over at his little onna with a light smile. She was a fast learner. She had learned what most inuyokai took years to master, starting from a very young age, in only six weeks. It was taking a little longer for her to get the hang of hunting, but he was sure she would master it quickly. He watched her as she skinned her morning catch by the fire, her furry tail swishing back and forth against the cave floor. Within three weeks she had grown her tail. It was a sign of power that not too many yokai had, with the exception of the wolf yokai. Her tail was still small, about the same size as a normal dog's tail, and looked like a black version of Kouga's tail, but in a few years it would grow out and become much fluffier as her strength grew. In a few centuries her tail would no doubt be nearly as long as Sesshoumaru's tail. Then he would have to teach her how to shift her tail into something she could carry around easier, like he did with his tail in the form of a cape. Sesshoumaru, for some reason, preferred to carry his tail as is.

"Yes, little one?" He asked as he watched her. Kagome smiled at him and offered him the cleaned rabbit. Already she was adapting to her new instincts, and she saw Touga as her protector and therefore her alpha. The alpha of the pack always ate first and got the best meat in return for his protection. The past few days Kagome had started to offer him the food she caught, but Touga always declined. Normally it was the alpha's job to hunt and provide for his pack, but Kagome was still learning how to hunt so she was the one doing all the hunting. Since she was the one hunting he would not accept the first pick in meat, but would instead eat at the same time as her. Only after she had mastered hunting would he start hunting once again. Then it would be her job to clean the catch and then offer him the best meat, and only then would he accept it.

"No, little one. You caught it. I will not take the best meat from your own catch." Touga told her once again. He was glad she saw him as her protector and alpha, but he would be fair about the game she caught. He did not need much to eat, anyways, so he would take whatever she did not eat.

"Please, Touga-sama? I feel bad when you get stuck with whatever I don't eat." Kagome said quietly. "It's bad enough I can only catch rabbits and squirrels."

"Don't worry about it, little one." Touga smiled lightly. "I do not need much to eat and, if I do get hungry, I will catch my own meal. You are still young and need all the nutrition you can get. You can ignore your instincts for now, at least until you can catch much larger game. Do not treat me as your alpha when it comes to food until you can catch so much meat that you cannot possibly eat it all."

"But..."

"Kagome." he interrupted, his voice firm in warning yet gentle. Kagome pouted and stared at the cave floor, and Touga found it hard not to laugh. They went through this every time and every time it ended the same, with Kagome being mildly reprimanded and pouting. Kagome slowly nodded and put the rabbit over the fire to cook. Her instincts were telling her to care for her alpha, yet her alpha was telling her not to. She had only been an inuyokai for six weeks, but her instincts were already very strong. She had not yet learned how to control them, either, as it was not something Touga could teach her. That came with years of practice and, even then, all inuyokai were still at the will of their instincts to some degree. Even Sesshoumaru could not fight off all his instincts. That was one of the reasons he fought with Inuyasha so much. Inuyasha constantly defied his dominance as alpha of the pack, and Sesshoumaru's instincts told him not to accept that and to put the hanyou in his place. Unfortunately it took several years for Inuyasha to get it through his thick skull that he could never defeat his brother.

Kagome sighed and waited for her food to cook. Then she ate in silence, trying to leave some of the best meat for Touga. Unfortunately Touga told her to eat it all, and he refused to let her leave without making sure all the meat on the rabbit was gone. Kagome was just finishing her rabbit when a strong aura suddenly appeared jut outside the cave. It appeared so suddenly that it startled Kagome, who was quick to hide behind Touga. Despite her normal spitfire personality, her new instincts were making her jumpy. It would take a while for her normal personality to return as her instincts made her quiet, easily frightened, and wary of strangers. That was why she was currently hiding behind the inutaisho, her tail fluffed up in response to her being startled like that.

Touga only chuckled at her, a sound that easily calmed her. She noticed how he didn't seem worried or surprised at all by the aura. She realized he'd probably sensed the aura from a great distance away, and it was likely that he knew who it was. Plus, the aura was much smaller than his own, although it was rather powerful, so he probably had no worry that he would be able to handle it should it be dangerous. Kagome relaxed slightly as she saw how calm her protector was, but she still stayed hiding behind him, peeking over his shoulder and looking warily at the cave entrance. She wondered who the aura belonged to. It was about the same strength as Sesshoumaru, maybe a little stronger, but she knew it wasn't the western taiyokai, seeing as he had been there only a few days ago with Ah-Un to deliver his father's armor (which Touga had yet to put on) and she knew he would not come again for a while.

"Do not worry, little one. It is only my cousin." Touga told her as an inuyokai with blond hair and silver eyes walked into the cave, bowing lowly to Touga, who nodded in response. "Hello, Rai. What brings you here?"

"Mother sent me, Touga-sama. She had sensed your power even from the southern palace." the inuyokai told him calmly. "It is likely my other aunts and uncles have sensed your return as well. They are most likely looking forward to seeing their newly returned nephew."

"That is likely true." Touga chuckled as Kagome peeked over his shoulder at the blond in the cave. He looked like Touga in stature, but his face was completely different. His hair was short and rather spiky, his face almost looked like Sesshoumaru's but with tanned skin. His markings were silver and looked like waves on his cheekbones. Then she saw his eyes. They were silver, like Touga's mother's eyes... but different. They were more steely and sharp, with one color of silver, while Tsukimi's eyes were swirls of different shades of silver. Still, his eyes were just as pretty as Touga's golden eyes were. Then she noticed the newcomer was looking at her, and she his behind Touga again.

"Might I inquire who the young one behind you is?" Rai asked his cousin. "She is clearly an inuyokai, but what clan is she? I have never seen an inuyokai with black hair and blue eyes."

"Ah, this is Kagome. She is not from one of the great eight clans." Touga told his cousin.

"But those are the only inuyokai in existence."

"Indeed, but she is not entirely a yokai."

"A hanyou? But she looks like a full yokai." Rai stated, looking at Kagome curiously. "She even carries the scent of one."

"Yes, she does. She is, indeed, a full inuyokai at the moment. But, really, she is a daughter of the kami." Touga explained, watching as his cousin's eyes grew wide in understanding.

"I see. How rare." the blond said in awe. "What is her purpose? Or has she already fulfilled it?"

"She was created to destroy Naraku, that fiend that caused chaos until recently, when she finally destroyed him. She was a miko before. Now that she has fulfilled her purpose she is getting her reward." Touga explained easily. He trusted this yokai and knew he would not divulge this information to anyone untrustworthy. He and Rai had known each other for centuries, after all.

"And what is her reward? Does it involve you, cousin?" Rain asked curiously.

"Hai. I am also being rewarded for allowing the kami to kill me. We are each other's reward." Touga smiled as Kagome blushed from behind him. Rai's eyes widened at this and he smiled.

"Ah, so that's it. Soul mates, huh? Congratulations, cousin. You are very lucky." Rai chuckled and Touga laughed with him.

"I am, indeed." Touga chuckled, glancing back at Kagome, who had relaxed some more as she listened to him talk. She knew Touga trusted this male, otherwise he would not have told him that she was a daughter of the kami, and that put her at ease. But she still hid behind Touga, her instincts telling her not to trust another male inuyokai that was not part of the pack. Touga and Rai may, technically be cousins, but there is no blood shared between them. All of Touga's aunts and uncles were created separately, with separate blood. They may be related by name, but they were not related by blood and that made Kagome unwilling to trust Rai just yet. Perhaps when her instincts settled down...

"I'm afraid I must be going now. Mother only wanted me to see if it really was you, cousin." Rai told Touga after talking to him for a while longer. Touga nodded.

"Give your mother my regards, and spread the word to the other clans that I truly have returned. I must stay here with Kagome until she is accustomed to being an inuyokai, but then I will return to my old palace. I will invite our aunts and uncles to my palace soon, so do tell them not to seek me out just yet." Touga asked of his cousin, who nodded easily.

"I will do that. It is safe to say that you will conceal your aura now?" Rai chuckled. "You are frightening some of the nearby villages with your aura. They fear the end is near for them."

"Hai. I haven't concealed it until now because I knew one of my aunts or uncles would get curious enough to send someone to see me." Touga laughed. With that said his aura vanished completely, startling Kagome. She looked at her protector in awe. She couldn't feel any power coming off of him at all. If she weren't looking right at him she would have thought he had disappeared from the world altogether. "I will see you around, Rai. Feel free to come with your mate to the palace wtih your mother and her mate." Touga offered. Rai smiled and nodded, giving Touga another bow before vanishing from the cave and from the area before Kagome could blink. Kagome just sat there and blinked a few times before Touga turned to her with an amused smile. "Little one, there is still some meat left on the rabbit. Go finish it."

-BREAK-

I gave you a longer chapter this time! Hurray! :)

Please review (but be courteous about it)

Thanks :)

Aozora12


	12. Chapter 12

I own nothing! (Except this story plot. And Rai. He's mine :P)

Chapter Twelve

Kagome eyed her prey hungrily. It had been several weeks since she last had deer. That time Touga had caught it for her; it was right after she broke her bow and couldn't go hunting without scaring away the deer yet. Now, however, she was determined to catch a deer. Her more animal side was craving red meat.

She looked around silently, spotting Touga in a tree, watching her closely. This was her third attempt at a deer today and, if she failed again, Touga would show her how to do it the right way. Until then he wanted to see if she could do it herself, without any previous help. So far she was doing good, staying downwind of the deer that was grazing in the small clearing. She had tracked this deer for over an hour before finding it, which showed Touga that she still needed to work on tracking. The deer wasn't too hard to find, and it only took him about five minutes. Even Inuyasha would have been able to find it within ten minutes. But Kagome had also done an extra step in making sure this doe didn't have a fawn, and he had to give her credit for that. Even though she was craving red meat, she still would not stoop so low as to leave a fawn defenseless.

Touga watched as Kagome his among the foliage of the forest, slowly and silently stalking closer to her prey. He saw her make a mistake instantly. She had drawn her dagger, as she was not yet ready to kill with her claws, as the metal glinted in the sunlight. She was very lucky the deer hadn't seen it. He watched as Kagome suddenly realized her mistake and moved the dagger into the shadows as she took a step closer to the deer and made her second and last mistake. She stepped on a twig. A resounding snap echoed in the clearing, startling the deer. Kagome tried to run at the deer with all her speed but she was still too slow to outrun the deer, and the doe vanished into the forest. Kagome groaned loudly in annoyance and sat down in the grass, pouting. She had wanted to show Touga that she could catch a deer by herself. She sighed heavily and looked up at the inutaisho as he appeared in front of her with a light smile.

"You did good, little one, even if you did not catch your prey." he told her. "If you had not been focusing on moving your dagger into the shadows you would not have stepped on the twig and startled it away. For someone who has as little experience in close distance hunting like you do, you did very well."

"But I still didn't catch it." Kagome pouted. "And I really wanted some deer today..." Touga chuckled and kneeled in front of her, looking her in the eye.

"Do not worry so much about that, little one. You just need some more practice. I have seen you improve with each attempt today, and that is all that matters." he assured her. "You have worked hard and, for that, you will get some deer today." he told her, watching as her eyes lit up.

"Really?" She asked with a smile. Touga chuckled and nodded.

"I will catch you a deer, but you must follow me and pay close attention to how I hunt."

"But you're so fast..." Kagome deflated.

"I will slow down for you, little one. I will hunt at your speed so you can copy me the next time you hunt." he told her. Kagome nodded and he helped her to her feet. Then she watched as he sniffed the air, searching for the scent trail of the deer that just ran away. It wasn't too far away so he would just go after that one. "Come. It is nearly noon and I would like some lunch soon." Touga smiled before going after his prey, making sure to go slow enough so that Kagome could follow and watch as he tracked his prey.

Soon enough they came upon the deer in a larger clearing. Kagome stayed downwind of the prey, hiding behind a tree with a great view of Touga as he stalked closer and closer to the unsuspecting deer. She watched as he was very careful about where he put his feet down, all without taking his eyes off the prey. Normally he would use his claws but, for the sake Kagome's learning, he was using a dagger this time. He kept it sheathed but within easy reach as he got in position to attack.

Kagome watched as he took a silent breath, tensed his muscles in preparation of the attack, and then rushed forward when the deer was looking away. He barely made a sound as he jumped over the forest foliage and ran through the tall grass of the clearing. By the time the deer noticed him he was already upon it, unsheathing the dagger in that instant and slicing through its throat, cutting off its air supply as well as severing some major blood vessels. The deer managed to run, but it didn't get far before it collapsed on the ground and died. Kagome watched it all in awe. She hadn't thought to keep the dagger sheathed until the last second, or to jump over the foliage instead of running through it. She would remember that the next time she went hunting, and that was the point in Touga making her watch him. He was teaching her, and she was grateful for it... especially when it meant she could have red meat tonight.

Kagome came out from her hiding place as Touga gathered up his catch and threw it over his shoulder, making sure not to get any blood on his pristine white clothes. He turned to Kagome with a smile. "That, little one, is how you stalk and kill a deer. Next time you are on your own."

-break-

This time Touga accepted the meat Kagome brought him. Not only was there plenty of meat for his little onna, but he was also the one to provide the meat this time. So, when Kagome brought him the best cuts of meat from the deer, he didn't hesitate to eat them. Although, he did go outside to eat. He didn't think his little onna would be able to handle watching him eat raw meat just yet, not until her mindset of being human left her and she accepted the fact that she was now an inuyokai and therefore could eat raw meat... and even needed to eat raw meat on some occasions.

Kagome still hadn't started to eat by the time he returned, even though her meat was fully cooked now. She watched him come into the cave and, when she saw he had no meat and no desire for more, she smiled and started to eat her own meat. Touga chuckled and sat down against the cave wall to watch her eat. He frowned at how little meat she gave herself. The amount would be acceptable if she were human, but she was no longer human. Since she was still very young she needed much more meat than what she had, so he got up, cut out another portion of meat, and put it over the fire as she watched him curiously. Kagome had, at first, thought he decided to eat some more. But then he put it over the fire and she realized it was for her. When she looked at him in question he merely smiled.

"You did not give yourself a sufficient amount of meat, little one. That is an appropriate amount for a human, but not for a young yokai like you." he said, motioning to the meat in her hands. "From now on you need to eat much more than that. That is the reason why I made sure you eat as much as you could of the rabbits you caught."

"Is that why I've been so hungry lately? I'm not eating enough?" Kagome questioned.

"That is it indeed." he nodded. "You are young and still growing, which automatically means you need to eat more. Add in the fact that you are female and of a good pupping age, and it means you need to eat even more."

"Pupping?" Kagome questioned, cocking her head to one side curiously. Touga chuckled and nodded.

"The human equivalent is impregnating." he told her, watching as she blushed deeply. "You are at a very good age to be a mother, even though you are young for a yokai. Your young age makes you healthier, more fertile, and more likely to carry a pup to term."

"More likely? Is it hard for inuyokai to carry?" Kagome questioned, still sporting a pretty blush.

"Hai. For my clan, especially. My strength makes it hard for a woman to carry a child with me. The actual pregnancy and birth are normal when a healthy pup is finally conceived, but miscarriages happen often within a few days of conception. Not only that but it's difficult for a pup to even be conceived." Touga sighed heavily. "It was like that with my parents, as well. I was the third attempt at a pup, surprisingly. Sesshoumaru was the seventh attempt with Mayumi. Inuyasha was actually unexpected. I never thought a human would be strong enough to carry a pup with me." the inutaisho shrugged. Then he looked at Kagome with serious eyes. "We may be soul mates, little one, and it is certain that we will eventually be mates... but I want you to be prepared for this. I know you desire to be a mother, and I will try to make it happen, but do not get your hopes up when I tell you that you have conceived."

"O-okay." Kagome said quietly, her cheeks still rosy. They sat there in silence for a while, Kagome still blushing, until she looked up at him. "U-Um... is there anything I can do to make it more likely?" she asked. Touga smiled lightly.

"Eat plenty of meat and train diligently until we mate. The stronger you are and the healthier you are, the more likely it is you will not lose the pup."

-break-

Kagome grinned as she watched the unsuspecting deer. Keeping her dagger in easy reach she stalked closer and closer to her prey, careful of every step she took. Finally she prepared her attack, waiting until the deer looked away. Then she leaped out of the forest and ran at the deer, hardly making a sound. She unsheathed her dagger and went for the deer's throat before the deer even knew she was there. In a few seconds it was all over, and Kagome had killed her first deer all on her own. She smiled happily and looked up at Touga, who was smiling proudly at her. It was her first attempt at a deer since the day she watched him. His little onna was, indeed, a very fast learner.

-BREAK-

Hurray! Two updates in one day!

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Gotta go to Psychology class now :)

Adios!

Aozora12


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